


Buried Alive

by JMount74



Series: Febuwhump [6]
Category: Thunderbirds
Genre: Gen, buried, earthquake, injuries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-18 18:14:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29372907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JMount74/pseuds/JMount74
Summary: A stressful couple of days at Tracy Industries - what could be more relaxing than a drive through the forest?
Series: Febuwhump [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2137590
Comments: 4
Kudos: 8





	Buried Alive

**Author's Note:**

> For Tsari, who prompted 'out on TI business and gets caught in a quake' plus needing to be saved by little brothers.

It had been a stressful couple of days. Scott had been in the San Francisco office finalising a deal that had been problematic since the beginning. After weeks of stalemate, Scott had finally had enough of dealing with their CEO over the phone and had arranged a face-to-face meet. It had still taken two full days before an agreement was reached, and Scott needed some down time.

He didn’t often get time to just drive anymore, in fact he couldn’t remember the last time he’d got behind the wheel of a car rather than been driven. Scott had thought about hiring a convertible and enjoying the sun, but the practical side of him took over, and in the end he’d hired a Ford Mustang Coupe. 

One day to cruise the roads. He headed south but inland, wherever the whim took him, not following any maps but taking the smaller roads rather than the I-road. He breezed through forests and by creeks. 

He couldn’t remember when he’d last felt so free.

Scott stopped for a picnic lunch and a look around the Lick Observatory before deciding it was time to head back. A good night’s sleep and then back to the island and he’d be as good as new. 

He returned a slightly different route and was enjoying being the only one on the road when the car started to shake slightly. There was something wrong, Scott just knew it. The car began to swerve, and he frowned in concentration. There was only one thing this could be.

Earthquake.

Knowing what to do in an earthquake and being able to do it are two different things. Scott knew he had to get off the road away from the trees, but the car and the road were having different thoughts. Suddenly the car’s rear right tire dipped off the road into the gully running beside it and before he knew it he was rolling. Scott was vaguely aware that there was a split appearing, but he was powerless to do anything.

Rolling off the road, down the ditch and partially into the crack that had appeared in the dry earth, he gave thanks that he had not hired the soft top after all, he would most definitely be dead after a crash like that. The earth began to move again, and he braced himself. The crack widened slightly, and the car lurched forward, but it was the earth from above them that buried him. 

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Virgil had been in a creative mood. The last two days had been relatively quiet, just a simple rescue for Four and one for Three, and he hadn’t been needed for either. So he had holed up in his studio and was painting. Nothing in particular, just splashing the colours around as his muse took him.

Scott had tried to persuade him to come to LA with him, but Virgil had declined. Having both primary pilots out of action was not ideal, and although he could have taken Two with him, he was in no hurry to return to TI work, not after last time. He almost felt guilty that it was left to his big brother again, almost being the operative word. Scott was far better at these things than he was, and he was quite happy to keep it that way.

John had reported in this morning that Scott had managed to finalise the deal – finally – and was taking today as a wind-down, and Virgil couldn’t blame him. The Colton’s were a difficult family to deal with at the best of times, and they had hit a rough patch that had meant they needed to raise funds. Selling to TI, their main competitor, was not what they had envisioned though, and they had made the process far harder than it needed to be.

It was lunch time, and he was sitting at the table with Gordon and Alan, all devouring sandwiches and chips, when the call came. John appeared, and before he could say anything Virgil just knew. Something was very wrong.

‘Guys, we have a situation. There has been a major earthquake in San Francisco and the surrounding areas. It hasn’t hit the city itself, more south in origin, but we have multiple issues to be helping with along a very wide stretch. This will be all hands on deck.’

‘FAB, John, we’re on our way. Any word from Scott?’ John shook his head. ‘I can’t raise him, and I don’t know where he was driving. EOS is looking to pinpoint him.’ Virgil sighed. ‘Ok, John, we’re leaving. Let us know as soon as you can.’

Earthquakes were one of the worst rescues to deal with, because of the aftershocks. It was so unpredictable the entire time the rescue was on, and speed was of the essence. Although technically San Francisco was 21 hours behind them on the Island, in reality it was a short hop across the Pacific for Two, and they were there in next to no time. 

If he was being honest, there was a stirring of guilt. Scott had asked him to come with him and Virgil had turned him down. Now, his eldest brother was in the middle – somewhere – of an active earthquake zone and they hadn’t heard from him. 

The rescues were spread out over the edges of San Jose and across the forest to the east, with the GDF and local rescue services taking San Jose itself. It was a large area, and they were thankful for John and EOS’ ability to pinpoint life signs, it speeded up the rescues greatly – but three hours in and they still had not seen or heard from Scott.

‘Virgil, EOS is picking up a life sign north of your position near the observatory. It’s very faint, possibly due to the trees and minerals in the area.’ Virgil nodded, ‘On our way, John.’ On reaching the coordinates, though, nothing was immediately evident. ‘You sure, John? There doesn’t seem to be anything or anyone here.’ There was evidence even this far from the epicentre of the earthquake that the tremors had dislodged a good chunk of the road, in some areas the road had almost disappeared into the forest surrounding it.

‘You’re right on top of the signal, Virg. Hang on, we’re trying to refine it…ok, it’s approximately 250 yards in front and to the left.’ Virgil made his way forward as Gordon and Alan continued to look around. ‘Ok, the road has collapsed where your saying, John, and there’s quite a sizable ditch that’s been cover…wait, I see a wheel!’ Shouting for his brothers, Virgil jumped down off the road. The car had obviously come off the road during the earthquake and then been buried by the road as it collapsed further.

‘How do we get the car out without damaging it further?’ Gordon hit the nail on the head. The back end of the car was protruding from the dirt, and Virgil considered how best to move it when they weren’t sure if the driver was injured. Easiest way was to wrap a rope around the back chassis and pull, the soil was loose around the car and would shift easily, and so they set about getting it ready.

It wasn’t as easy as that. The car refused to budge, leading Virgil to wonder if it had been caught in a crack in the ground. So they set about clearing away the dirt around the car. That didn’t take long, and it turned out that he was right, the front half of the car was definitely caught in a crack that pinned the doors closed. With the positioning of the car, Virgil began to think they should just remove the driver. He was a little worried that the person was seriously injured, after all, it had been three hours and the driver was not responding to them.

‘John, the driver is not responding to us, and seeing the position of the car it’s quite possible there is a head injury due to the crumpling of the roof. Can you trace the plate so we know who’s in the car while I work out the best way to extract them?’ John nodded and set to it as the engineer worked out the best equipment to use to extract the car. 

It didn’t take long, and John reappeared in front of Virgil almost before he’d had time to do anything. Virgil frowned. John looked paler than normal, certainly before he hadn’t looked that bad. ‘John?’ His brother swallowed. ‘Where are Gordon and Alan?’ He frowned. ‘They’re getting a pod ready. Why?’ John absently nodded. ‘The car, it’s Scott’s car. He hired it today.’ Virgil straightened. ‘Status?’ John looked away momentarily. ‘Life signs are strong.’  
He nodded. ‘Right, let’s go get him out.’

The pod Gordon and Alan configured made short work digging around the car enough for Virgil to gently pull it out. They wasted no time in getting the driver door off, and Virgil sighed in relief. Scott was out cold, congealed blood proving the theory that the crumpling had caused a head injury. What Virgil was more worried about was the potential injuries to his legs. 

Cutting everything away to get their brother out was easy. Getting Scott onto a stretcher not so much. But once he was out and in Two’s infirmary Virgil began to breath a little easier. The scanner was showing some serious crush injuries to both of Scott’s legs that would require surgery and months of rehab, three cracked ribs, one broken, broken left shoulder and a fractured skull.

It wouldn’t take long to get Scott to Mercy General, but in the short trip Scott’s stats took a sudden nosedive, causing Virgil to leave Gordon flying Two while he poured over the scans to find out what was wrong. 

This time there was red. And an alarm. The rib that was broken had nicked a vein, and there was a slow bleed. Mercy Gen might only be a few minutes out, but slow bleeds were hazardous for two reasons. It wasn’t just the loss of blood, but the increased risk of blood clots. Attaching a bag of artificial blood to the drip, Virgil got everything ready so that they handed Scott over immediately.

The handover went smoothly. Gordon stayed behind while Virgil, very much against his heart, went back out to ensure that there were no more people who needed rescuing. 

Several hours later and rescue complete. Virgil and Alan arrived just in time to see Scott wheeled into the room. He was still unconscious, but at least this time it was from medication. The four of them watched over him as he slept. There was a long road ahead of them, but they’d get through it.

Next time, Virgil would definitely be going to TI with his eldest brother.


End file.
